×

More than 800 county residents have received J&J shots

AP Photo In this April 1, 2021, file photo, people walk in to get their COVID-19 vaccine at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza past a sign that says “Johnson & Johnson vaccine only” in Los Angeles.

A total of 807 Chautauqua County residents have received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from the county Health Department. For now, that number will not be permitted to go up.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. on Tuesday recommended a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, setting off a chain reaction worldwide and dealing a setback to the global vaccine campaign.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced that they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The acting FDA commissioner said she expected the pause to last a matter of days.

Per the CDC and FDA, any adverse events related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appear to be extremely rare. People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

According to Christine Schuyler, Chautauqua County public health director and commissioner of Social Services, of the 807 county residents that have received the J&J vaccine from her office, 135 were since March 23. “We do not have access to data from other vaccine providers but encourage anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the last 3 weeks and develops the symptoms described to contact their health care provider,” she added..

AP Photo U.S. health regulators on Tuesday, April 13, is recommending a “pause” in using the vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

The County Health Department is holding COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week with the Moderna vaccine at SUNY Fredonia. A second dose clinic is being held on Wednesday, April 14 and a first dose clinic is being held on Friday, April 16.

The link to register for the first dose clinic on Friday, April 16, is posted at https://chqgov.com/public-health/covid-19-vaccination-clinics

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said statewide they are pausing the use the J&J vaccine, which is what he was administered. “The reason they paused the Johnson & Johnson is they want to make sure all health care providers know if a person comes in with these symptoms the normal medication is heparin that they give for a blood clot. That does not work in this situation, so they want to get the word out to all health care providers, if a person comes in, they said they had a vaccine, they have a serious headache, they diagnose a blood clot, you don’t use the normal medication, and they have a special protocol for this situation,” he said during a video conference Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, the clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets, the fragments in blood that normally form clots. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died, and all of the cases remain under investigation.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today